No Cure for the Common Cold?

So autumn is now here and well and truly under way. The wind is blowing, the rain is falling and the air is definitely colder.

In Chinese medicine the autumn is the time of the Metal element. This signifies the beginning in the growth of yin. The cold, wet and dark increase as we move toward winter and the energy of nature begins to move back inside the earth. You can see this clearly in the trees, the leaves begin to turn brown and fall from the trees as the sap returns back down into the roots.

The lungs are the organ associated with the Metal element. Known as the “delicate” organ in Chinese medicine, they are actually open to the external environment via the mouth and nose, and are easily affected by the wind, cold and damp.

This time every year we all catch colds. Since swine flu a few years ago every autumn has seen a mutation in the strength and severity of the colds going around. Particularly in the persistence and the ability of the cold to linger. I’ve treated a lot of people over the last few years who have a cold and just still can’t seem to shake it off 3,4 or 5 weeks after first getting it. Proper treatment at the time or before getting it would have helped to reduce the severity of the cold and its duration.

This raises two important points:

Acupuncture can effectively treat common colds, and has been doing so for thousands of years. Coming for treatment at the first sign of a snuffled nose, achy head or feeling out of sorts can do a lot to release the pathogen outwards and strengthen the body’s immune response. Treatment in the first few days can also give the body a big hand in getting on top of the problem and preventing it from penetrating deeper, draining the body of its reserves.

Acupuncture can be used preventively to keep the immune system strong. Ensuring the body has enough energy to mount a strong immune response and that all systems are functioning as they should will ensure fewer colds are caught, or, if the cold is particularly severe, that it doesn’t penetrate too deeply and linger for too long.

So who says there’s no cure for the common cold?! There is a lot we can do to help ourselves. For those wishing to have some preventative treatment I will knock £15 from the price of an initial consultation during October, and if you are unlucky enough to catch a cold in October and November I will do these treatments for £25! There’s simply no need to suffer in silence any more!